Mail-box



MAIL BOX.

(Application filed July 29; 1897.)

(No Model.)

Yin

- Patented m. 8, I898. m. s. MORENO & c. .1. cunnv.

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 6|4,05 8,. Patented Nov. 8, I898.

- M. s. MORENO & c. .1. cunnv.

MAIL BOX.

(Application filed. July 29, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l I! I Witnesses.

Attorney.

THE NORRIS PETERS C0, FHOYCLLITHCM, AZ-SrbNU'DN, D

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MASON SCARRIT'I MORENO AND CHARLES JEFFERSON CURRY, OF KEY WEST, FLORIDA.

"MAIL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,058, dated November 8, 1898. Application filed July 29, I897. Serial No. 646,289. v(N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, MAsoN SCARRITT Mo- RENO and CHARLES J EFFERSON CURRY, of Key West, in the county of Monroe and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in letter and parcel boxes, andmore particularly to street-boxes,

and has for its object simplicity, durability,

and cheapness, quick and effective in opera tion, and composed of a minimum-number of parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for securing the box to lamp-posts or other suitable objects of various sizes in such a Way that it cannot be removed without access to the box.

A further object is to provide acover which I when attached to the box and the box fitted in place as desired it cannot be removed.

A further object is to provide a receivingdoor normally held closed and adapted when opened to close a lifting door, thereby forming a tight rigid partition below said receiving-door, preventing the riding of the box by hand or implement and also protecting mat-.

ter in the box from rain, dust, and dirt when additional mail-matter is being posted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a box so constructed that the mail-matter when deposited therein will lie against the lower front portion thereof, where a deliverydoor is provided,which when open ed will allow the mail-matter to freely pass into the mailbag and save the time and labor of reaching in to drag the letters or parcels out. These doors are so arranged that it is impossible to force or pry'them open with an instrument or tool.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in combinations of parts, more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinal section showing the box in position, the receiving-door closed. Fig. 2 is avertical cross-section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the box, the top removed, the receiving-door and drop-doors shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective of the receiving-door and a portion of the dropdoors. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the securing means; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a letter-box, showing the securing means attached;

Referring by letter to the drawings, ais the box, having the portion 1) inclined from rear to front.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 the receiving-opening c is provided with grooves or ways a, in which the sliding receiving-door (1 moves and is'carried and nor* mally held closed by the flat springs h, which are secured to rear inclined wall 1) near the top. To the bottom of the curved sliding door cl is secured a U-shaped yoke 2', having the curved upwardly-extending arms 11, gutter-shaped or semicircular in cross-section and provided with one or more openings '5 j are rock-shafts journaled in the rear wall of the box at one end, the other or front end provided with rollers j, having lugs j adapted to engage the openings 1' of the curved upwardly-extending arms a" of the U- shaped yoke "6, thereby rocking the shafts j and closing the swinging doors is, which are carried by said rock-shafts and are adapted to swing together in a horizontal plane when the sliding receiving-door d is opened, forming a partition below the receiving-opening c and above the body portion of the box.

. In the side walls of the box are grooves or ways Z for the sliding delivery-door i, which is located in the front wall of the box near the slanting bottomb. Any suitable locking means may be used to prevent tampering.

m is the removable top, secured by. means of the tongue m on the outer surfaces of the side walls at their tops and the grooves m in the under face of the top. A spring-catch p is provided on the under surface of said top to bear against the inside of the rear wall of the box to prevent the removal of the top after it has been slid into place from the rear. Additional security against the removal of the top is the post to which the box is attached, as when the box is in place the top rests against the post, and as it has to be moved rearwardly to remove it the post is directly in its path.

The means of securing the box to a post or the like consists of the tapering piece of flat metal 71, either removable or cast integral with the box, and the hinged post band or clamp 0, which is hinged at o and is adapted to grasp the post in tong fashion, the ends 0 being made to correspond in shape with the tapering piece it of the box, having the ways 0 in which the piece it is forced, at the same time spreading the ends 0 and clamping the post-band 0 tightly around the post. Screws or rivets 0 are then passed through the rear wall of the box and the ends 0 of post-clamp in such manner as to necessitate access to the box in order to remove them, as shown in Fig. (3.

In constructing and operating this improved mail-box the sliding receiving-door d is set in the grooves c of the receiving-opening 0 and is yieldingly held closed by the springs h, which are secured to the rear wall near the top of the box on the interior. The rock-shaftsj are journaled in the front and rear walls of the box, having rollers j near their front ends resting against and adapted to be revolved by the upwardly-extending arms t" of the U-shaped yoke i. The swinging doors k are carried by the rock-shafts j and are swung up and form a horizontal plane or partition in the box when the receiving-dooris pressed down by reason of the openings i of the arms 2' engaging the lugsj on the rollersj of the rock-shaftj, revolving them inwardly until the doors k, carried thereby, form a horizontal partition, where they are held by the lugs j bearing against the inner walls of the gutter of the arms 2" until the receiving-door is allowed to rise, carrying the arms 1;, when the lugs J again engage the openings 1' and are swung back by the weight of the doors 70. It will be seen that as soon as the reeeiving-doorbegins to open the swinging doors 7c begin to close, so that when a letter is put in the box it rests on the horizontal plane formed by the swinging doors 713 until the receiving-door is allowed to close, when the swinging doors return to their vertical position and the letter drops into the body of the box, where it is safe from dust, dirt, rain, and the ravages of thieves.

It is evident that various slight changes might be made in the forms, construction, and arrangements of the parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. Hence we do not wish to limit ourselves to the exact construction herein shown and described, but consider ourselves entitled to all such changes as fall within the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A mail-box comprising the casing, a receiving-door near its top, a delivery-door at the bottom, the bottom slanting from rear to front, springs secured to the rear wall within and near the top of said casin g, the receivingdoor carried and controlled by said springs, a yoke carried by said receiving-door, rockshafts journaled in the front and rear walls of the casing on each side of the receivingdoor, swinging doors carried by said rockshafts and operated by the receiving-door, substantially as described.

2. A mail-box comprising the casing, receiving and delivery doors therein, springs carrying said receiving-door and holding it normally elevated or closed, a yoke carried by said receiving-door within the casing, the arms of said yoke extending upwardly having openings, rock-shafts having projections engaging and operated by the openings in said arms, and swinging doors carried by said rock-shafts, substantially as described.

3. A mail-box comprising the casing, a tapering piece of metal on the rear wall thereof, a clamp made in the form of tongs having the hinged post-band, the end pieces, and ways therein formed to correspond and receive the tapering piece of metal on the rear wall of the box, and fastening means passed from the interior through the rear wall of the box and the ends of the post-band, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

MASON SOARRITT MORENO.

CHARLES JEFFERSON CURRY. lVitnesses:

T. A. SWEETING,

PETER T. KNIGHT. 

